1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to safety devices for use on motor vehicles, and more specifically relates to a combination filter and wind shield for use in blocking at least some of the light rays which could interfere with the normal vision of the driver or other occupant of a motor vehicle and for blocking wind during movement when a side window is down. An accurate name for such a safety device is a glareblocker.
2. Background of the Invention
It has been recognized that operators of vehicles, especially drivers of trucks and automobiles, are greatly hampered in their task of guiding their vehicle when a blinding light is positioned such that its rays can enter a person's eyes. For this reason, it is common for vehicles to be provided with opaque shields, commonly called sun shields or sun visors which are mounted inside of a vehicle in a position adjacent to the vehicle's front windshield. However, a person who drives westwardly in the late afternoon towards the setting sun would typically move a sun visor so that it blocks off the sun's direct rays, thereby permitting the driver to see at least some of the road and traffic ahead of him--except for that region which is completely blocked off by the sun visor.
The mere size of the traditional sun visor is not the only factor which is significant, the placement of the sun visor also is quite important. It has been common to mount conventional sun visors on a horizontal rod having a pivotal mounting bracket at the corners of a windshield, so that a sun visor can be used either directly in front of the driver or to his left side. Sun blocking to the right of the driver is provided by use of the passenger side vehicle sun visor. Such a pivotal sun visor has not been without its limitations though, especially when the direction from which the sun's rays are coming is below or beyond the "reach" of a permanently mounted sun visor.
These deficiencies and others have been overcome to some extent by U.S. Pat. No. 2,613,104 to Parsons which provides an independently movable "light reflector" which can be held at essentially any desired position adjacent a metal window frame. A permanent magnet is secured to an edge of a planar sheet and the magnet serves as the attaching means for mounting the sheet at any other variety of positions adjacent a window.
A suction cup alternative to the Parsons magnetically-held sun visor is a sun visor adapted to be held to a glass pane by a suction cup as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,715,043 to Schwell.
A later improvement utilizing magnets on both sides of a window was suggested by Chary in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,557 issued on Sept. 28, 1982.
A common drawback of each of the above-referenced constructions is their lack of effectiveness for blocking wind and in holding the sun visors disclosed stationary for an extended time. A sunshield which moves or falls off the windshield at an important time increases the probability of an accident. Thus, the driver is distracted by his need to reposition or suddenly recover a fallen sun visor and remount it on the windshield. This distraction from the road and surrounding traffic can even contribute to a mishap. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an article of manufacture in the nature of a glareblocker which overcomes many of the above described problems associated with the prior art.
Another object is to provide a relatively small sun glareblocker which is particularly easy to mount exactly where it is needed in order that the overall size of the device is not unduly great. So another object is to provide a device which requires essentially no installation effort and which can be easily transferred from one car to another.
Another object is to provide a construction which is useful at nighttime to block out any light rays emanating from a vehicle approaching from the rear--and more specifically, light rays that would otherwise be visible in an external rear view mirror.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device which will maintain its position in spite of vibrations emanating from the vehicle in which it is used and act as a window screen to shield wind, entering at the forwardmost corner of an open side window, from a driver's face.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a glareblocker of a configuration which by virtue of its structure in combination with the general manner in which the wells of side windows are constructed operates to maintain itself in a position at the side window of a motor vehicle and deflect wind during motion of the vehicle from the driver's face when an adjacent side window is down; thus serving as a portable side vent window pane and shield.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cantilevered mount at or near a lowermost edge of said novel device such that an adjacent full sized side window can be substantially retracted and yet provide wind deflection, a stable mounting, and glare blocking.